Axelrod says super PACs hurting democracy, vows reform

6/14/12 7:24 PM EDT

Obama campaign senior strategist David Axelrod said Thursday that free-spending super PACs are hurting the fabric of democracy — and that President Barack Obama's administration would move to reform the campaign finance system in a possible second term.

"It's a great concern," Axelrod said in an interview with WJLA ABC 7, a station owned by POLITICO's corporate parent. "People are writing $10 million checks in one fell swoop to these super PACs — in many cases, they're undisclosed."

"Ninety-eight percent of our contributions are under $250," Axelrod said. "The average contribution is around $51."

"It would take 181,000 of our contributions to match one of those anonymous contributions," Axelrod said. "That's just a concern not just for us but for our democracy."

Super PACs have risen in prominence this election cycle — offering wealthy individuals, corporations and unions the opportunity to pump money into the electoral system discretely and anonymously. However, much of the independent spending this cycle was also legal prior to the advent of super PACs — and wealthy individuals have long contributed huge sums to political organizations like 527 groups or 501(c)(3)s.

Axelrod said a second term Obama administration would bring about reforms in the campaign finance system.

"I hope that when we win this election, one thing we can do is bring some common sense back to our system," Axelrod said.

Left unsaid is the fact that Obama also has a super PAC — Priorities USA Action — run by two former White House staffers. The group has struggled to keep pace with efforts on the GOP side — with many wealthy Obama donors recoiling at what the super PAC represents.

Axelrod said the Obama campaign would ultimately be outspent — a remarkable development given that the campaign was once expected to break the billion-dollar mark and shatter previous fundraising records.

"We will be the first presidential campaign, the incumbent president to be outspent in an election campaign — I think it will be by more than a little bit," Axelrod said. "That's something that's never happened before."